Recent Patriots Draft Pick Compared To Three-Time Super Bowl Champ

Roman Phifer was a foundational piece to the first half of the New England Patriots dynasty.

And the Patriots believe they have a player on their current roster who resembles the three-time Super Bowl champion.

Marte Mapu made his season debut last week after starting the campaign on injured reserve and stood out immediately for his versatility to line up at safety and move down into the box as a linebacker. Mapu, who relayed the defensive coverages to the rest of the defense against the Miami Dolphins, still has a ways to go to make the same impact Phifer did, but safties coach Brian Belichick believes the second-year defender is on the right track.

“Like a Roman Phifer-type back in the day,” Belichick told reporters, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “(Phifer) was less of a (traditional) linebacker, more of an athletic linebacker who could cover tight ends. That was obviously a different era — a lot more ’21 personnel’ (two backs, one tight end) and you played with three ‘linebackers’ every snap.

“I love what Marte does for us. Obviously he plays in the box some, but plays as a safety and can move around the defense. That’s the special part of a player like that who can be so versatile for us.”

The Patriots had high hopes for Mapu when they selected the Sacramento State product in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He flashed during his rookie season but didn’t see much playing time in a deep safties group.

It’s clear he earned the trust of New England’s coaching staff. The 24-year-old played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in its 15-10 loss to the Dolphins.

The Patriots probably will look for more of the same out of Mapu on Sunday with New England trying to snap a four-game losing streak against the Houston Texans.